Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1887-05-04
Democrats, be onFysur Guard.

Fou0 lUI buo WuOlo OciuOCIdtiC tioAO" A"Ac
is the duty of every Democrat whether he
voted in the primary or not. 1t will not do
to suppose that the ticket will be elected,
simply because it has been nominated by a
large primary vote. The ticket cannot
elect itself-it must receive the cordial sup
port of the Democratic party. The Repub-
lican party are, though silently, working
industriously 10 elect their ticket, and the
Democrats should not suffer themselves to
be caught napping-they should not only
be wide awake, but should be working to
ensure the success, beyond peradventure,
of the whole Democratic ticket. Do not
suffer yourself to be enveigled into the
game of swapping votes, for whenever you
swap, you will not only be doing wrong
thing, but you will most certainly be
cheated. Be sure to vote, and to vote for
the whole ticket, and then you cannot
make a mistake.
We suppose the "moon changed as
stated, but the weather did not furnish the
''cold snap" as the Recorder seems to have
anticipated. We confess our surprise at
finding the editor of the Recorder enter
tanning the belief that what are called the
changes of the moon have an effect upon
the weather.-Spectator.
Did we express any such belief, or have
you only read without thinking, or if think
ing, thinking about something else. We
only gave the opinion of "prOgnostication
and as all the almanacs seem to adopt GER
tain rules regarding the changes of the
moon, must not there be something which
has been cleaned from observation to war
rant these representations" We believe
we prefer the opinion of almanac authors
to the opinion of men in another line. Be-
| sides, if the changes of the moon affect a
certain class of people, Qunatics,) why not
the weather?-Highland Recorder.
The reply of the Editor of the Recorder,
which we give in full, shows that we were
not mistaken in supposing that he enter
tanned "the belief that what are called the
changes of the moon have an effect upon
the weather." for, it will be observed, that
he not only expresses that belief, but gives
what he supposes to be an argument to sus-
tain it, based upon the assumption that
"the changes of the moon affect certain
class of people Qunatics)." His argument
put in syllogistic form would be as follows:
The changes of the moon affect lunatics;
what affects lunatics, affects the weather;
therefore the changes of the moon affect
the weather.
If either premise in a syllogism be false,
the argument is worthless and the conclu-
sion false. Unfortunately for his argument
in this case, both the major and minor prem
ises are false; for it is not true that the
changes of the moon affect lunatics more
than others; and it is not true that what
affects lunatics affects the weather. AS
both the premises are false, the argument
based upon them is, for a double reason,
| false.
In an ignorant age, when lunacy was less
understood, and when the belief prevailed
that lunatics were possessed Of devils, the
superstition also prevailed that they were
affected by the moon, and hence were called
lunatics from the latin word luna, which
means the moon.
So much for the argument based on the
false assumption that the changes of the
moon affect lunatics, and therefore affect
the weather.
Now as to that based on the authority
of "Almanac authors" as the Recorde,
calls them.
The "Almanac authors" themselves have
no belief in the weather representations
they publish in their almanacs, and they do
not expect well-informed people to believe
in them, but publish them because they
know that there is still great ignorance in
the country, and that, in consequence,
many will have some faith in their wealth.
er representations which will increase the
sale of their almanacs, and the revenue de.
rived therefrom-ths purpose for which
they are published.
| No almanac ever published in this coun.
try has had-in Virginia and Maryland es:
pecially,-such an extensive sale as that Of
Grubert's Hagerstown Almanac, and its
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. did as much as
anything else to effect it, and they gained
credence chiefly through fortunate mis-.
take of a printer boy in Grubert's office,
and that boy was Ambrose Henkel, after.
wards Rev. Ambrose Henkel, of New Mar
ket, a brother of DIR. Solomon Henkel, the
grandfather of Drs. A. NJ, and H. H. Hen
KEEL of this city, and it occurred somewhat
as follows:-
AS Mr.. Grubert on one occasion was
about to leave his office to be absent some
time, he requested the boy to make out the
weather-record, SO that the printing of the
Almanacs might go on.
| The boy hesitated about undertaking that
job, protesting that he did not know how
to do it, when Mr.. Grubert told him, that
it did not matter much what prognostica.
tions he gave, except that he should avoid
predicting cold weather in Summer. OF
warm weather in Winter. With this in.
struction the boy entered upon the task OF
giving the weather representations. In
the language of the Recorder, "without
thinking, or if thinking, thinking about
something else,'' the boy predicted snow on
a certain day in July, and, fortunately for
the boy and the reputation of the Almanac
it happened to snow on that day, to the as
constituent of all, and particularly of the
boy and Of the "Almanac author" The
result was, that Grubert's almanac there
after was by many accepted as a reliable
prognosticator of the weather, and the mis-
| take Of the boy-which proved to be re-
markable hit,-if it did not, in the language
of Col. Sellers, shave millions in it," was
yet worth great deal to the German cal
manac author"
The authority of "Almanac authors" or
rather that of the weather forecasts they
publish, is of mo value, for their weather
representations are based neither upon cor
rect observations nor upon philosophic